gods won’t conform

This documentary tells the story about a modern Shaman, who, after the whole community being modernized and secularized for decades, was invited back to stage to perform shamanic rituals and pass her spirit to an heir. The show didn’t go as expected, for even the shaman person was back, the gods refused to participate in such a farce. The next year after the failed rite, the shaman’s daughter, who was supposed to be the next shaman, died in an accident.

After being tagged as superstitious and backward, now the indigenous religions seem to revive in forms of culture and folklore. However, this kind of revival is once again another appropriation of the local by larger forces. To be religious is to really believe in the real presence of the gods, rather than simply dealing with the signs and symbols of a distant culture. What the modern government did in this film is a second violence under the mask of benevolence.

This film also made me reflect on other cultural preservation efforts prevailing today. These efforts have to be 1) well suited in the larger agenda of cultural self-confidence and national rejuvenation, and 2) a sensational show that can boost local tourism and economy. They subject to the appropriation of both nationalism and capitalism (sometimes the two forces have the same face). In the name of rescuing and recovering the past, what we are doing is digging the old practices out of their graves, modernizing them from head to foot, not letting them rest in peace. We modern people just won’t let any potentially useful piece escape our control.